


Origin of Numbers

by 12u3ie



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, no beta we die like [redacted], will tag more as things happen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:21:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28181559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/12u3ie/pseuds/12u3ie
Summary: When Shade accidently ends up on Twelve's world, Twelve is ecstatic! Shade, however, is worried and has no idea how she's gotten there. Twelve's sisters aren't too happy to see a new face either. As more glitches become apparent throughout the world, what secrets will be revealed?
Comments: 25
Kudos: 6





	1. Wrong Base, Right Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the summary is bad loll. I hope y'all like it!

“Oh, where is it? Where did I leave it?” Twelve muttered to herself as she dug through chests and barrels. She was searching for her heart of the sea, not needing it for anything at the moment, but just wanting to make sure she had it. Moving bases was never an easy task, and even well over a month later, she was still struggling to find things. The thing she was looking for always seemed to be at the wrong base at the wrong time. “I could’ve sworn I had it-”

“Hello Twelve!”

“Oh, Double! Hi!” She pulled herself out of the chest she was waist-deep in. “I was just looking for my heart of the sea. Have you seen it anywhere?”

“Sorry, I can’t say that I have.” Double’s smile was as big as ever, always eager to assist. Her eyes twinkled a bit in the afternoon light. “Have you looked at your other house, the small one at spawn?”

“Yeah,” Twelve said, standing up and stretching a bit. “I was just about to head over. Just wanted to double check first.” She giggled, which Double responded to with a raised eyebrow. “I- ha!- I said double check. Get it?  _ Double _ check?” At this, she completely lost it, breaking down into a bought of laughter.

It took her a minute (11.32 seconds to be accurate), but Double got the joke too. “Oh, I see! Ha!” She was never the best at laughing. However, the others seemed to love it, and it was a social cue she enjoyed participating in. Besides, Twelve’s puns were equal parts cheesy and funny, and never ceased to brighten her day.

Twelve took a moment to calm down. “Yeah, yeah…” She picked up a few items from the containers strewn about her front lawn. “Do you need anything from spawn?”

The robot shook her head. “I just came from that area. I have all the supplies and items necessary at the moment.” She spoke in such a manner that, if written, her words would sound as robotic as she appeared. But, just as her personality did, Double’s diction was nearly indistinguishable from that of a human player. She acted as alive as she felt, which was very. Her sisters treated her no different than they treated each other, despite the lack of blood connection. The “sisters” were in actuality more like clones from each of the different dimensions. They preferred the term sisters though, as clones made them seem insignificant and as if one of them was “truer” than the others. They were all sisters, though sometimes calling Double a friend. She minded the term about as much as she did ‘robot’: not at all. The sisters treated her as an equal and did not see her differently, and that is all that mattered. 

“Okay then, I guess I’ll be heading off!” Twelve placed the items she picked up in her inventory, save the compass to spawn.

Double let out a small chuckle. “You’re more than adequate at remembering directions, especially places you’ve been on several occasions. Why do you carry a compass with you?”

She flipped the compass over in her hands. “I just… I always like to be sure, y’know? I never like getting lost, so why not carry a compass with me? I’ll know where spawn is, where home is, just in case anything happens. I mean-” She shuffled around in her inventory for a moment before pulling out a raggedy piece of paper. “-I carry a map with me for the same reason. That and exploration. I hate being lost but I love to explore. Quite the dilemma, right? Well not anymore with the amazing map of awesomeness!” She plastered a fake smile over her genuine one. Dramatically, she displayed the torn map like an overzealous telemarketer.

This earned another laugh from Double. “That is certainly a good reason to carry those items. Ha!” 

“Now,” Twelve said, once again winding down from her own joke, “I really should be going. I want to be at least at spawn by nightfall, if not there and back. Wow,” she muttered, “that sentence was a bit weird.”

“I understood it perfectly.”

She smiled sweetly at her robotic companion and sighed. “I know Double. You’re the best.”

Double’s brows furrowed slightly. “‘Best’ is a relative term. It is used subjectively to describe the most excellent, effective, or desirable type or quality. So, I-M-O, you are the best.”

Twelve’s smile brightened. “No you are!”

Double smirked, enjoying the wholesome banter but knowing it must end. “Let us finish this conversation by stating that, since ‘best’ in this case cannot be proven, we are both the best. Now you can get to your task.” 

“Thanks Double! See you later!” Twelve called as she dashed towards the compass’ arrow. 

“See you later as well, likely tomorrow!”

Twelve chuckled softly to herself and shook her head. Double was quite the character. “I wouldn’t have her any other way,” she whispered.

She began the short trek to spawn by running. However, that quickly was forgotten in favor of skipping. Twelve loved skipping. It wasn’t just because of the childlike wonder often associated with it. It was the freedom she felt while doing it. Her eyes drifted between trees, flowers, the occasional creature, and other points of focus. Every time her feet left the ground, for a split second she felt like she was flying. Of course she already had an elytra, but those wings were fragile and hard to fix. She was always too scared of breaking them to actually use the sparkly wings. To be fair, Fourteen was the only one of them that really used the elytra, and even that was a rare sight. The girls preferred walking to places, constructing detailed roads to connect them, or using the Nether for far-away spots. Twelve tripped on a stray root.  _ We really do need a path between my new base and spawn, huh? _ Despite the slight danger in the road, she continued skipping. A smile crept onto her face - had it even left? - as she bounced along. How could someone not smile when frolicking around like this? 

As her thoughts wandered, Twelve quickly found herself at spawn. Her goofy grin fell into a smile of nostalgia. She remembers first spawning into this world, right here on top of this small hill. With no idea where she was, and a very rough grasp on  _ who _ she was, Twelve was put in this world with nothing but her instincts. And clothes, obviously. For those first perilous days, she did only what her gut told her to: wood, crafting bench, tools, cobblestone, hide!, nighttime scary, kill sheep (sorry), eat, sleep, dig, mine, mine, eat, mine, kill, monster!, etc. After the first week or so she realized she didn’t have to follow her gut anymore. Of course, she still listened from time to time, but it wasn’t her whole life. She had iron armor and tools, a diamond pickaxe, an enchanting setup in the works, a decent amount of resources, and a small hole in the side of a mountain she called home. Once she realized her security, she immediately began work on a small house. Twelve now stood before said house. It was worn down and dusty now, sure, but she was still proud of it. She remembers the grind for even this tiny amount of resources, the frustration coming up with a design she liked, and random memories popping up throughout the build giving her insight into the process. 

She turned her head to look behind her at the spawn point. Twelve was the one who built it, but the others had all added their touches to the platform. Thirteen had bordered it with blackstone stairs and slabs, mixing some netherrack and wart blocks into it like vines creeping towards the center. The purple glazed terracotta corners with end rods on top came courtesy of Fourteen, and Double added some redstone - a “quick kit” as she called it - underneath and to the side to help respawning players get back to their stuff, as well as a couple iron blocks and smooth stone slabs. Twelve sighed thinking about how, like her simple mixed stone platform, their entire world has grown and been shaped by all of them. Sure, they had their own individual bases and projects, but “community” spaces like this reminded Twelve how close and familial they were. How Thirteen had decorated the spawn Nether portal and fixed the portal system and needed Double to help with the coordinates, how Fourteen had improved their enchanting setup and made an XP grinder when she found a double spawner, how they simultaneously shared all their resources and hogged everything for themselves. Twelve smiled at the thought. She turned back around and entered her starter base. 

After about half an hour of searching through containers -  _ Seriously, why are there so many chests in here? _ \- she finally found her heart (of the sea). She was about to put it in her inventory when she realized that she’d probably just loose it again that way. She instead searched her inventory for an ender chest to put it in. She’d probably forget it was in there too but, hey, it was the thought that counted. Plopping it down on the ground, she heard a small  _ ping _ . “It’s probably just Thirteen blowing herself up again,” she casually said to no one. But as she tucked away the heart and picked up the chest, her communicator pinged several more times. “Huh, maybe a death loop?” She removed the device from her pocket and unlocked the small screen. There was nothing new in chat. No death messages, no achievements, no messages, nothing recent enough to cause it to go off. But there it was, beeping like a metal detector scanning Double (which did happen once at the Mega Hub). Twelve was about to check her admin panels when a brilliant light shot out from the spawn point. She flinched and fell over, shielding her eyes from the bright light. 

Opening her eyes after several moments, she sat up and turned back to spawn. There was a figure on the platform, floating a bit above the ground. They were wearing a gray cloak, and tiny blue-ish black particles were emanating from their limbs. Those dissipated as the figure’s feet and hands appeared. They turned around and-

Twelve gasped. “Shade!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying it so far!  
> Happy birthday Shade!


	2. Shades of Confusion

Shade’s vision came back into focus.  _ Gah… What just happened? _ All she remembered was that she was at her base, then she went to spawn. There was a blinding light and then… nothing. She couldn’t see much, but what she could see was an odd mix of darkness and light. It wasn’t gray, however; just black and white together. That was the only way it could be described. 

She was disoriented, barely able to tell up from down. Besides a headache, though, she was fine. As her vision adjusted to her new surroundings, Shade glanced down at her hands. They seemed to materialize. Her eyes went wide.  _ Was I in my demise form? _ Her limbs were there now, so she pushed aside her worry in favor of confusion. She had no idea where she was. Looking down she saw that she was standing on a stone platform. She turned around and-

“Shade!?”

Her eyes widened. There, laying on the ground before her, was Twelve. They had been briefly trapped in the Void together a few months before. Shade internally winced as she remembered having to slay the poor girl to get her out. She was lucky enough to find her own way out shortly after. 

Twelve stood up, brushing the dirt off her pants. “Shade! Hi! How are you?”

The phantom then realized she had just been staring into space for several moments, eyes unfocused in her shock. “I- um- I’m not quite sure.”

The girl chuckled a bit. “I meant ‘how are you?’ as in like, are you having a good day? I didn’t really mean how you got here, but that works too.”

Shade awkwardly smiled. “I think my answer still stands.”

“Yeah,” Twelve said, running a hand through her fuschia hair. “I didn’t really expect to see you today either, but here you are! C’mon inside.” She gestured and walked towards the door a small house. “I moved bases a month ago, but I’m sure there’s some stuff in here to eat. I don’t think golden carrots go bad for a while-”

“No. No thanks, I mean. I have no clue how I got here and I probably should be getting back. I don’t mean to be rude, I just-”

“No, no,” Twelve interrupted. “I get it. Players have other responsibilities, and that’s okay!” Even though she sounded cheery as she pulled out her communicator, Shade was still worried she had offended her. They had only met once before and she had to leave so soon again? How could someone not be upset at that? But the longer Twelve searched through the device for the right code, her soft smile reaching her eyes, the less worried Shade became. That is, until her friend’s face fell.

“What is it? Is something wrong?” Shade moved until she was looking over Twelve’s shoulder.

“Well,” she began, “I don’t know too much about code and how admin commands work, but that-” She pointed to a jumbled up line of code. “-doesn’t look good.”

“Wait.” Shade pulled the communicator closer to her face. “That’s my code? Oh no…”

Twelve looked up to face her, failing to hide the worry in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“I know a thing or two about code, and this really isn’t normal or good.” She let go, allowing Twelve to take the device back. “I guess I’m stuck here for a while.”

“Oh. Well,” she said, trying to put a positive spin on the situation, “at least we get to hang out some more.”

“Yeah.” Shade tried her best to push back her worries and smile. “I guess.”

“Well, should I show you around a bit?” 

Shade’s smile turned soft and genuine when met with Twelve’s. The girl’s eyes were nearly sparkling with excitement, and her grin was gentle but goofily big. Apparently Twelve had a gap in her front teeth. “Sure!”

If Twelve could get any more happy in that moment, she did. Practically squealing, she put a hand on Shade’s back and gestured to the Nether portal. She cleared her throat, visibly calming before she spoke. “Let’s begin the tour.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably won't post this close too often, but just wanted to today ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> Thanks to y'all who have given kudos so far! If you haven't yet, please do consider it. I'm really proud of my work and would like to know if others are too. Thank you!


	3. Sisters and Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to post this on Friday, but then I realized Friday is Christmas so... It's here now!

The Nether really was an odd place. Twelve explains that since the sisters haven’t been able to get on the Nether roof yet-

“Wait,” Shade interrupts. “You have sisters?”

“Oh, did I not mention that?” She furrows her brow. “Hmm, now that I think about it, I guess I haven’t.” She gasps, eyes as bright as stars. “I have  _ got _ to introduce you guys! Oh, I bet you’ll love them! C’mon!” Twelve practically drags Shade through the tunnels, many of which were yet to be decorated. She explained where each portal went as she passed them and who was designing what tunnel, but with her mouth going as fast as her feet, Shade couldn’t keep up. 

After several twists, turns, and hard corners, they stopped abruptly at the end of the main tunnel. Shade nearly bumped into Twelve, stumbling around for a moment. 

“Well,” Twelve began, gesturing to the portal in front of them, “here we are!”

“Where-” Shade grabbed her head, the headache from earlier threatening to return. “Where are we, exactly?”

“We’re at Thirteen’s base. Now, it’s a work in progress, so try not to criticize it. If you do,” she nervously chuckled, “she might get mad, and I don’t want you to see her angry. She’s really nice when you get to know her. But don’t tell her I told you that,” she winked.

“Okay…” Any questions that were being answered were swiftly replaced with ten more. “Who is Thirteen? One of your sisters?”

“Yep! I’ll explain more after you meet her.” Twelve gently tugged on Shade’s hand, which Shade realized she’d been holding the whole time. “C’mon. I’m sure they’ll both be excited to see you. Thirteen and Double, that is,” she answered before Shade could ask. Twelve stepped through the purple swirls. 

Shade hesitated, then walked in after her.  _ More dizziness, just what I need today _ , she thought, gritting her teeth as she stepped out the other side. If it weren’t for the aforementioned teeth clenching, her jaw would’ve dropped to the floor. She stood in a tall room, twenty blocks tall at least. The floor was carpeted with soul soil with accents to brown glazed terracotta. Pillars of crimson stems reached to the ceiling, their three-by-three bases made of basalt. Cyan vines crept upwards from the bottom of the pillars, and red vines weeped from corners of the ceiling. The blackstone walls and netherrack floors were speckled with gold. As she drifted closer to the walls, Shade could’ve sworn she saw ruins engraved within the slabs and stairs. 

“I know right?” Twelve said from the center of the room. She stretched her arms out in grandiose fashion. “Isn’t it awesome?”

“It sure is!” a voice called from the hall’s entrance. Both girls turned to the source of the sound. 

“Hi Double!” Twelve began to walk over to the figure. “I can’t believe what she’s gotten done. And Thirteen says she’s a bad builder.”

Double chuckled, and a chill ran down Shade’s spine. That laugh was so fake, almost robotic.  _ Whoever this person is, they’re a faker.  _ Shade’s gaze turned into a scowl as she walked towards them. “Twelve-” She stopped in her tracks when she saw Double: her skin was  _ gray _ .

Twelve turned to her. “Yes?”

Despite the robotic appearance of the figure before her, Shade felt like the one short circuiting. “Uh…”

“Hello.” The robot stuck out their hand in an introductory manner. “I am UNIT 22, which stands for Universal Nexus and Information Terminal, version 22. You can call me Double if you so wish. What’s your name?” 

Shade’s eyes darted from Twelve to Double back to Twelve. Twelve returned her perplexed look with one of excitement and expectation. Turning back to Double, Shade shook her hand. “Shade. You can call me Shade.”

“Shade. Oh, how interesting! That name certainly is unique.” Her smile, although caused by mechanisms beyond Shade’s understanding, looked at human as her own. It may have even looked  _ more _ human. Shade reflected her grin and demeanor as best as she could with the thoughts buzzing through her head. 

Double seemed to pick up on her behavior. For the sake of an oblivious Twelve, she boxed away those thoughts for now. She did, however, let go of her hand, not wanting to cause Shade any or more discomfort.

Said oblivious sister was squealing with joy once again. “Double?” The robotic assistant turned to face her. “Where’s Thirteen? She  _ has _ to meet Shade.”

Double’s eyes glazed over for a split second before snapping back to reality. “She said she was out gathering resources. She should be back shortly. Wait.” She paused for a moment, spacing out again. 

Shade looked back to Twelve, who simply shrugged. “She does this sometimes. It’s her way of accessing chat, instead of having a communicator.”

Shade hummed. “That makes sense, I guess.”

“I’ll have to tell you the story of how she was made-”

She was cut off by a  _ beep _ , and Double’s eyes refocused.

“Maybe later. What’s up, Double?”

“Thirteen just notified me of her return. She will be back here at a matter of moments, by the main entrance.” She pointed behind her. 

“Thanks! I’ll go out to get her!”

“Twelve, that is really not nes-” But she was already running out the doorway, leaving Shade and Double alone in the hall. The two stood in silence for several moments, neither party knowing what to say. 

“So,” Shade broke the silence after what felt like years, “how are you today?”

“I am adequate. My internal systems are working optimally, and it seems that my family is going alright as well. Those variables, along with a few others, mandate that I am doing well. Can the same be said for you?”

The question, although asked in good faith, felt a bit like an attack.  _ Can the same be said for me? Am I okay? Are things going to be alright? Am I-? _ “I’m doing fine, thanks.”

The robot’s smile returned, as it had fallen slightly as Twelve left the room. “I’m glad! The happiness of family and friends is always my top priority. I was created as an assistant,” she explained. “I was build four months and eleven days ago. Twelve and Fourteen were the ones who built me. Fourteen did the majority of the insides and Twelve the majority of the outsides. Thirteen claims she helped on occasion. However, I know that just means calling the other two ‘nerds’ as they worked. Not much of a help in my opinion.” Double let out a chuckle. “But I wouldn’t have her any other way.” She paused for a brief moment, then continued. “Thirteen and I are the best of friends. From what I’ve observed, we are the closest of all of the sisters. This is despite the lack of blood relation through whatever created the sisters, which I find fascinating. We also do not have many interests in common, with her focusing more on building-” She moved her hands, gesturing to the grand hall they stood in. “-and myself on redstone and more technical matters. She is also quite the master of player versus entity, also known as PVE.”

Shade had become so absorbed in what Double was saying, wanting to know more about Twelve’s sisters, that it took her a minute to realize the robot had stopped talking. “Hm? Oh, sorry. Yeah, that’s all really interesting.”

“I’m glad you find these anecdotes entertaining.”

It took her a second, but once Shade processed the whole conversation, she realized something. “Wait. You consider me a friend? But we just met?”

Double giggled, the most human one Shade had heard her do. “Any friend of Twelve’s is a friend of mine! Sure, I may still be wary of you, considering your species appears to be completely undocumented. However, I will not let this detract from our budding friendship.” She glanced downwards, clasping her hands in front of her torso. “Or rather, what I hope to be a friendship.”

“Of-of course we can be friends!” Shade swiftly replied. “I-I have no problem with making new friends.”

Double lifted her head back up, tilting it to the side. “Are you certain? Your change in speech patterns seem to indicate otherwise.” 

“Hm? Oh, o-of course! I mean-” Shade chuckled dryly, rubbing the back of her neck beneath the hood of her cloak. “-I’ve made some friends in the past few months, and-”

“It’s alright,” Double said, her voice low but not quite a whisper. “You do not need to explain yourself to me.” Her smile was kind, and reached her eyes in a way Shade thought was distinctly human. “Now, I ask this without judgement: is your acceptance of my offer of friendship genuine?”

Shade took a deep breath, centering herself before answering. “Yes. I would like to be your friend. I mean, I’ve never been friends with a robot before.”  _ Wait, is that offensive? Did I just- _

“And I’ve never been friends with someone outside of my family. Also, since your species is not in my database, very few players have been friends with a…a you before.”

Shade laughed, her nerves slowly easing up. “Yeah, I guess so.”

The two stood in awkward silence for a few more moments. Shade shifted her weight from foot to foot, her smiled pulled out into a uncomfortable look. She was struggling to come up with a new topic of conversation.  _ What can we even talk about? I wouldn’t want to be rude to- to my new friend! _

Double stood up straight, fiddling with her fingers. Noticing the other’s discomfort, the robot decided to clarify something: “We don’t have to talk about anything if you don’t want to. I am perfectly fine without a topic of conversation. We can just stand here, or you could walk about the room or whatnot.”

At those words, Shade visibly relaxed. She smiled a silent ‘thank you’ and began to walk around and examine the grand hall more closely. Double echoed her smile before spacing out to perform a routine maintenance check of chat and its associated functions. The two stood in the hall in comfortable silence. It was nice to have a brief break from all the commotion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Holidays & Happy Crisis!


	4. Language!

“Hey bitches! Miss me?”

“Language!” Twelve ran in after Thirteen, looking a bit tired. “We have a guest!”

“Who?” Her eyebrow was raised as she walked around the room. “Double’s the only other one he- OH MY- FUCK!” Thirteen leapt several blocks in the air, her ruby eyes wide as a ravine. “Who the nether is this?” She had noticed Shade, who was admiring the blackstone walls and was previously in the shadows. Shade had stepped out from behind the pillar when Thirteen arrived, thus startling the sister.

“Thirteen!” Twelve scolded. “This is Shade. Remember when I said I made a friend in the void? Well, this is her!”

Thirteen glared at the phantom, who cautiously waved at the sisters. Thirteen frowned. “I don’t like her.”

“No! She’s a friend.”

She rolled her eyes. “I could not give less of a fuck if she-”

“Language!”

“-is your friend. You’ve tried to befriend the fucking wither before.” She turned her attention to Double, who had been waiting patiently beside them. “What do you think?”

The robot refocused once again, she gaze shifting from Thirteen to Shade. Shade was visibly uncomfortable once again.  _ Must not be a big fan of attention, especially negative. This could have resulted from many things, including- _ She shook her head, not wanting to theorize about the past experiences of someone she just met. She instead smiled softly. “I like her. She is a friend of Twelve’s, which you may see as naivety, but I do not. She also appears to have no ill intentions. If she wanted to harm us, she would have hurt me while you two were gone.”

“Well she could-!” Thirteen sighed, realizing with a look from Double that she’d rebut every point she made. “Fine.” She turned to look at Shade, who was still standing awkwardly halfway across the room. “But I’m keeping my eye on you.”

“Why would you just keep one eye on something? Why not- Okay I get it now.”

Thirteen rolled her eyes at the robot with a smirk on her face. “Loser.” 

There was a pause. “Well Thirteen,” Twelve said, “are you going to introduce yourself to our guest?”

“Huh? Oh, you’re still here.” She apathetically stuck out her hand. “The name’s Thirteen. I’m from the Nether. I’ve beat every hostile mob in combat at least twice, and I can do the same to you.”

Shade cautiously shook her hand. “Shade,” she gulped. “My name’s Shade.”

“Shade huh?” She let go of the phantom’s hand and took a step back. “Pretty badass name. Alright, you can stay.”

“You don’t control who stays!”

Thirteen groaned. “I  _ meant _ that I’m fine with her. For fuck’s sake-”

“ _ Language! _ ”

“-for  _ goodness _ sake,” she corrected, side-eyeing her innocent sister, “you don’t need to take everything so literally! You’re worse than Double with shi- with stuff like that.”

“Okay, let’s not argue when we have a guest.” Twelve gestured back to Shade, who waved awkwardly for the millionth time, not knowing what to say or do.

“Okay, okay, fine!” Thirteen shoved her hands into the pockets of her black hoodie as she walked further into her base. “But I’m still watching you,” she muttered as she passed Shade.

Shade tensed slightly as Thirteen said that. Upon noticing this, Twelve walked over to her. “Don’t mind her,” she said as she placed a hand on her shoulder. “She just likes to look out for us. But she’ll come around eventually!”

“Did she not already ‘come around’?” Double walked beside the two, exiting the grand hall. “She said that she was fine with Shade, did she not? Wait. Of course she isn’t fully on-board. Her primary goal is to be tough and protect us, which she does through intimidation. So,” she said, turning to Shade, “although Thirteen may not appear to be fully okay with your presence, she is simply being cautious. However, I do not personally see the need for this, as you are almost certainly not a threat.”

“Uhh… Thanks?”

“It was not a compliment; simply an observation. Since you took is as one, I will say ‘you’re welcome.’”

“Alright!” Twelve clapped her hands together, accidentally startling Shade. “Oh, sorry. So, since you’ve met Thirteen and seen her base, should we get on with the rest of the tour?”

Shade cracked a timid smile. “Sure?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thirteen means well, she's just a bit tough.   
> It seems that not trusting strangers might run in the family...


	5. Robot GPS versus Human GPS

The three continued the world tour, and ended up getting lost more times than they cared to admit.

“The industrial district is this way!” Twelve pointed to the right. “I remember those trees and rocks so clearly.”

“Apologies, but you are incorrect. The district is this way.” Double pointed to the left.

Shade, despite the earlier squabbles of the sisters, didn’t mind this one. She found it nice to hear arguments that weren’t about their trust in her. A small smile crept its way onto her lips as the sisters pointed more and more forcefully in their chosen direction. 

“Fine, okay, fine,” Twelve sighed, lowering her finger-pointing hand to her side. “Let’s go your way. You are the computer after all.”

A smug look made its home on Double’s face. She quickly shook it off in favor of a, “Thank you, Twelve. Now, let us go! Onward!” She marched forward with confidence, the other two following just behind her.

“So,” Twelve began, turning to Shade, “are you liking the world tour so far? I mean, besides the bickering and stuff.”

Shade laughed and shrugged. “I guess. For a trip I didn’t plan on, this is going pretty well so far.” 

“Thanks!” Twelve cheered. “I’m so happy you’re having a good time.”

“Of course! I mean, with a friend like you-”

“No, with a friend like  _ you! _ ”

“No you!”

“Okay, we’re both awesome. Deal?” Twelve extended her hand.

Shade shook it. “Deal. Oh, also,” she timidly asked, “is Thirteen… always like that? Y’know, all defensive and angry and stuff? Not to be blunt but-”

“It depends.” Double turned to face them, now walking backwards. “Sometimes she’s worse, sometimes she’s better. It really just depends on the day. Most of the time she’s better though.” She turned back around.

“Oh. That’s…” She struggled to find the right word. “…nice?” 

“Yeah, she doesn’t do well with new people,” Twelve added. “She actually attacked me the first time we met. Got me down to half a heart!”

“Oh.” Shade’s eyes widened. “That’s, uh-”

“Nah, I was all okay. What matters is she didn’t kill me, and she hasn’t acted quite so hostile since. We’ve had to work through some things together, like her constant fear of death and losing everything she cares about, but she’s been doing alright.” Despite the dark subject matter, Twelve’s smile never faltered. This concerned Shade a bit, raising an eyebrow at her friend. Twelve didn’t notice; she just kept walking and skipping over roots and rocks. Shade silently sighed, and focused her attention back on the path. It was barely noticeable underneath the leaves and rocks. Someone seemed to trip every ten steps. 

“Double, I know you’re a computer and have GPS and stuff, but are you sure we’re going the right way?” Twelve warily scanned her surroundings. “I don’t remember this path at all, and I remember all the paths.” 

“Yeah, I hate to doubt,” Shade kicked at a root dead-center in the road, “but this doesn’t look like it’s been used in ages.”

Double stopped in her tracks. Shade and Twelve nearly collided with her, instead colliding into each other. After dozens of rapid apologies, they turned their attention to their robotic companion. “Hello?” Twelve drew out the o, waving her hand in front of Double’s glazed eyes. “Okay.” She clapped her hands together, turning back to Shade. “So she’s spaced out, and we’re thoroughly lost.”

“Oh, that’s great.”

“Yeah. Oh wait!” She dug her hand into her pocket. “I forgot I had this!” She whipped out a yellowed, folded, torn paper. 

Shade stared at Twelve quizzically, while Twelve stared at the paper. “And that would be?”

“It’s a map!” she cheered, turning the map to face Shade. She flipped it back over. “I had this earlier to help me get to spawn. I stuffed it in my pocket before you arrived, and I guess I forgot about it. Until now!”

“So, this can help us find the… the industrial district?” She moved so she could look at it over Twelve’s shoulder.

She stared intently at the map. “Hmm… I don’t think so. We appear to be on the complete opposite side of the map to the district. See!” She glared playfully into Double’s unfocused eyes. “This is why I need to be in charge of directions at all times. Robots can make mistakes, while I-” She stood straighter, placing her hand on her chest and tilting up her chin. “-have never made a mistake in my life.”

Shade giggled at her friend’s acting. Twelve dropped the act and laughed too. “Okay, okay,” the pink haired player calmed herself down. “We really do need to get on with the tour.”

“What, no more fabulous acting?” Shade placed the back of her hand over her forehead. “How will I live?”

“Stop! You’re gonna get me laughing again,” she spoke through a widening smile. 

“Alright, alright.” She put her hands up on mock defeat. “I’ll quit it. …for now.”

A loud  _ BEEP _ came from their robotic companion, startling the two out of their laughter. Double’s eyes refocused. “Sorry for ‘ducking out’ for a moment. I have deduced that we are nowhere near the industrial district.”

“Yeah,” Twelve began, sharing a look with Shade. “We already kinda figured that out.” She waved the map.

“Oh, I see.” Double took the map, careful not to rip it further. “So we’re near…?”

“You’re asking?” A quick nod from Double confirmed. “We’re near Fourteen’s base.” Twelve gasped. “We  _ need _ to say hi to her! Then you'll have met all of us!” 

Shade smiled. “Yeah, totally! Let’s go.”

“Alright, but-” She turned back to Double. “- _ I’m _ leading this time.”

Double chuckled. “Fine by me, as long as we don’t get lost again.”

“Alright.” Twelve smiled at her companions and received smiles back. She turned around, map in her left hand, sword in her right. Pointing her sword ahead, she yelled: “Onward!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Robots aren't perfect! Neither are people, though.  
> -~-  
> New Year! Hopefully a good one!


	6. Impromptu

The previously rocky road they were walking cleared as they traveled. Double still kept tripping on things though. Twelve saying she should have given her better programing and Shade hovering above the ground every time Double did so wasn’t exactly helping matters. They laughed together, with Twelve’s horrendous puns making an appearance every two minutes. Shade and Double cringe at every one, but laugh along anyways.  _ They may be bad, but they’re still funny! _

Shade tells them a bit about the world she was in, the server she had joined. How she was building a house in the swamp, and was working on some redstone farms, and the rocket shop she built, and how she really wanted a trident. In turn, Twelve and Double weave tales of their world. Of all the places Shade hasn’t quite seen yet, the farms that they’ve built together, the builds and bases in progress, the brief versions of how the sisters met. 

“So wait.” Shade stopped them in the middle of the path. “You just spawned in, not remembering anything?” 

Twelve nodded. 

“And Thirteen battled mobs endlessly in the Nether before you found her?” 

Twelve nodded. 

“And Fourteen was stranded in the Outer End after you and Thirteen defeated the- the dragon?” 

Twelve nodded. 

Shade rubbed her forehead. “Woah.”

“And I was created approximately six weeks after Fourteen was brought back home, to assist in organization, building, redstone, and several other aspects of the world we live in.”

Shade chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief. “Wow. You all have really done a lot, huh?”

“Well,” Twelve rubbed the back of her neck, “we haven’t gotten a lot done as much as we’ve just… discovered more sisters.” She awkwardly smiled. “Yeah… It’s kinda weird when I put it like that. Hehe…”

Shade kept walking, the other two doing so as well. “I mean, it’s not the weirdest thing I’ve heard. By the way, one of you should probably be leading.”

“Yeah I guess,” Twelve responded. “Also, I’m leading.” She looked down at the map, which took up both hands now that she had put the sword away. “Wouldn’t want us to get lost again.”

“So we’re still on that?”

“Yes Double. If I get us lost on the way to Fourteen’s base, you have full permission to bully me into oblivion.”

“Alright, alright.” Double’s smile softened. She was proud of Twelve for making a friend outside of the sisters. She and Shade were getting along so well, it was as if they’d known each other for years. And they had only met once before this! The way the two quipped and laughed… Double sighed.  _ Best friends? Very likely.  _

“Oh, oh!” Double was snapped out of her thoughts by Twelve. “We’re nearly there!” She broke into a sprint. It was so sudden that Shade and Double were left staring at each other in bewilderment. “C’mon, c’mon!” Twelve called from ahead. 

Simultaneously, the robot and the phantom broke eye contact and dashed down the path. They were all laughing through their panting breaths, leaping over logs and rounding corners of the trail. Their smiles all grew larger and more determined as the path began to open up. The forest made way for a grand and barren mountainscape, its grasses all a dull shade of green. 

“Yes!” Twelve cheered as she landed at the edge of the path. “I- I won!” Her hands fell to her knees, breath heavy but smile staying bright. She didn’t look up as other cheers and warning came rushing towards her. In fact, she only noticed them when the call’s owners ran right into her, toppling all of them over into a pile of laughter and gasping breaths.

“That-” Shade struggled to contain her laughter long enough to get words out. “That was awesome!”

“You’re telling me!” Twelve said, trying to untangle herself from the impromptu tackle-hug.

It took a solid minute to get them all back on their feet. Double quickly ran an internal diagnostic before checking the other two for injuries. Twelve assured her that they were fine, they just fell over, but Double had to be sure.

“So,” Twelve said once everything was sorted out. “Welcome to Fourteen’s base!” She gestured at the mountainscape behind her. A few bushes and some long grass dotted the area. Besides that, there wasn’t much to see. 

“Uh Twelve?” Shade asked. “Not to doubt your map reading skills, but are you sure this is her base?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t-?” Twelve’s eyes widened. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. Most of the base is underground. That’s why nothing’s here.”

“She built it as if it were a bunker,” Double added. “Technically, I believe that it would be considered a bunker.”

“Yeah. Also there’s the floating island up there.”

“The what- oh.” Shade shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked upward. A small chuck of land was floating in the sky, as they often do in worlds. 

“She built that one herself. There’s a little house on top she goes to sometimes to calm down or hand out or whatever. I don’t know what Fourteen does half the time, but as long as she’s happy, that’s all that matters.”

Shade smiled up at the island. “Cool.”

Their staring and awe were interrupted by an arrow flying right in front of Shade’s face. “What the heck?!” She yelled, stumbling back and nearly running into Twelve. Her eyes darted around the landscape. “That arrow just flew at me out of nowhere, and I can’t see the darn skele that shot it!”

“Oh yeah,” Twelve said, some of her cheery demeanor dropping. “I nearly forgot about the traps.”

Shade whipped around to face her. “What?”

“Fourteen has a habit of trapping things.” She dryly chuckled. “You really don’t want to push any buttons around here, am I right?”

“I do not think this is a trap.”

“Hm? Why do you think that, Double? That could’ve easily come from a stray dispenser.”

“Well, firstly, there are no obvious activation systems around. No buttons, levers, pressure plates, et cetera. Secondly, the angle of that arrow was curved in such a way that it could not have come from a dispenser.”

“Well, like I suggested earlier, could it be a skeleton?”

Double clicked her ‘tongue’. “Not likely. It is still daytime.” She pointed towards the sun, still plenty high in the sky. “Also, if it were a skeleton, it would have almost certainly shot multiple times. Instead, only a single arrow was fired.”

Shade’s eyes looked from Twelve to Double and back, before landing on the latter. “So… What is it?” 

“Well, given all the evidence, this leaves only one option.”

Double was interrupted in her conclusion by a quiet but noticeable  _ vwoosh! _ Everyone turned to the woods, which seemed to be the source. Each player shared looks of fear with the others. 

Twelve was clearly the most terrified, her hands shaking and adrenaline coursing through her veins. She feared for the worst: a hostile player who somehow glitched in. 

Shade was pretty scared too, not wanting to fight an angry creature today.

Double seemed calm on the outside, but her circuits were firing at a mile a minute. 

A shadow feel next to Twelve from behind. All three girls turned around with varying degrees of caution. The figure they were met with was taller than the three of them. They held a bow in one hand, clutching arrows in the other. Pads covered their elbows and shoulders, and their hair was tied in a high ponytail. A small mask was worn across their mouth, and their eyes shone a bright, intense lavender.

Twelve sighed in relief. “Hi Fourteen!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Super Smash Bros voice* Fourteen has entered the story!


	7. Fake It

The figure - Fourteen - tilted her head, stepping a bit closer to the group. “Hi Twelve. Double.” She nodded to each sister as she said their name. She turned her attention to Shade, doing a double-take. Her hand made its way to the hilt of her sword. “And who the-” She glanced at Twelve. “-heck are you?”

Before Shade could open her mouth, Twelve explained. “This is Shade. She’s the friend I found in the void. Remember that?”

“Yeah… She’s the one who had to kill you to get you out, right?” Although she was clearly asking Twelve, Fourteen didn’t stop glaring at Shade.

“Yep! Wasn’t the best way to meet a new friend, but it worked out okay.”

Fourteen slowly turned to face her sister. “Friend?”

Twelve’s smile didn’t fade despite her sister’s attitude. “Uh-huh! We’re friends, right Shade?”

The phantom blinked her eyes, realizing she hadn’t done so since Fourteen showed up. “Yeah, we’re friends.” She tried her best to smile, but another glare from Fourteen threw that idea out the window.

“See, Fourteen? Everything’s good!”

The sister turned back to Twelve, her eyes and demeanor soft. She gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “Could I talk to you for a moment? Alone?”

“Of course!”

“Alright,” she said. She gave Shade one last look before walking away.

“Okay, what did you want to talk to me about?” 

Fourteen sighed. Her sister’s smile was so big, her eyes like stars.  _ How do I break this to her?  _ “Twelve…” She sighed again, deciding on her approach. “How are you this naive?”

Twelve’s eyebrows arched and she stumbled a couple steps back. “Wha- what do you-”

“You let a stranger onto our world? Someone who you only met once before this, and she killed you.”

“She ha-”

“Don’t interrupt me.” Her words were harsh. Her tone remained soft. “I cannot have you bringing strangers onto this world. Okay? You met her once, one time, in the freaking Void, and she killed you. And now you let her in?”

“Well, I didn’t exactly let her in.”

Fourteen paused. “…What?”

Twelve hesitated. “I- I didn’t really let her in. She just… got in?”

“She what?!” she hissed. “So this so-called ‘friend’ of yours, who stabbed you to death in the Void, just-” She waved her hands around. “-entered the world. She has to be a hacker. Do you understand me?” She took her sister by her shoulders. “She is a stranger who hacked onto this world.”

“She didn’t hack!” She stepped back, shrugging off her sister’s hands. “It was a glitch! I saw it with my own eyes. My communicator beeped like crazy, and then there was a white light, and then she was here.” Her royal blue eyes threatened to well up with tears. “Please. She’s not a bad guy. Shade is not a hacker. She’s my friend.”

Fourteen scoffed. “You can believe that all you want.” She scowled over Twelve’s shoulder at the phantom, who was making small talk with Double. “But when she betrays you, when she hurts you, don’t come crying to me.” 

She strode over to the other two, brushing shoulders with Twelve. “Hey, Shade!” The phantom turned to face her, an unreadable expression on her face. “I want to make some things clear. One-” She held up her pointer finger. “-I do not like you. Two-” She added her middle finger. “-I do not trust you. Three-” Ring finger. “-you will not hurt anyone in this world. You will not so much as lay a finger on a weapon. If you do so, I will kill you on the spot without remorse. Four-” Pinkie finger. “-if you wrong my sister, you will be locked away and tortured. You will beg for the release of death. And lastly-” Thumb. “-you will not go anywhere near me or my base. If I need to approach you, which I won’t, I will come to you. You will not cross this line.” She drew a line in the dirt with the tip of her grayed yellow boots. She looked back up, lavender eyes locked with Shade’s blue and black ones. “You got it?”

The group was draped in a thick blanket of silence. 

Shade finally broke it by letting out a sigh she didn’t know she was holding in. She let out an audible gulp, then, in the calmest voice she could muster, replied with a small, “Yes.”

Fourteen nodded. “Good. Now leave.” Then, she disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

Shade immediately went from nervous to shocked. “Wh- where did she go? Can she teleport?”

“No,” Double spoke for the first time this conversation. “She used an ender pearl. She is currently up there.” The robot pointed to the floating island. Atop it stood a shadowed figure, entering the cottage that was built there. “She threw the pearl when you two weren’t paying attention.”

“Oh.”

“Well, now that you’ve been, uh, ‘welcomed’ by all this world’s residents, how about we go back to… somewhere else.” Twelve turned her back to her sister’s base. She pointed towards the forest from which they came. The shadows within were lengthening, and a few hostile mobs were spawning in the darkest spots.

“Of course,” Double responded. “The closest significant location to this one would be Thirteen’s base.”

“Perfect!” Her hot pink hair bounced as she skipped to the woods’ edge. “Last one there’s a piece of rotten flesh!”

“Wait,” Shade spoke. The sisters both turned to look at her.  _ What just happened? _ she wanted to ask.  _ Am I not welcome here? _ she wondered. A smile crept its way onto her face, the genuine worry in her eyes morphing into something more playful, more palatable. “The last time we raced, we ended up in a pile on the ground, all dirty. How about we just walk, more like a stroll?”

“Of course! Besides, I’m still a little tiny bit tired from before.” She began to skip again, backwards this time. “Well, what are we waiting for? The sun is setting and-”

“We have more than enough time to get to the base before the sun sets.”

“-and I’d like to get there well before then,” Twelve finished. “Double, sometimes you have to wait for the speaker to stop speaking.”

“Oh.” Double began to walk as well. “I apologize.”

“No apology needed, silly! It’s just a lesson you haven’t quite learned yet. It’s all okay.”

The robot smiled. “Okay. Speaking of okay, are you okay Shade?”

“Hm?” The phantom realized she hadn’t done nor said much in a while. “Oh, I’m fine! I was just a little shaken up, but I’m all good now.” She jogged to catch up to the two, and the trio walked onwards. The time went slow, as did their feet. And Shade’s smile faded, relaxing into something natural.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the first taste of conflict!   
> AKA Shade isn't welcomed by someone else and feels really bad about it even though it isn't her fault Fourteen is a jerky mcjerkface!


	8. ‘Til You Make It

Twelve skipped through the forest. She thought her feet landed like a cat’s, precise and quiet. It was quite the opposite, with her audibly thumping the ground with every hop. She didn’t care either way. Skipping is fun and freeing. 

Double walked with precision. Every step was calculated this time to make sure she wouldn’t trip over any more roots. Despite this, she still stumbled over several. She didn’t mind. As long as nothing broke, it was perfectly fine. Mistakes are inevitable in any program, and she was no different.

Shade decided she was better off floating. A slight hover above the ground was safe; she didn’t trust her feet much at the moment. Feet could trip, and she couldn’t afford mistakes right now. Her eyes searched every block of the forest around her. The feeling of being watched hovered over her, an anxious cloud of anticipation. She could’ve sworn she saw figures darting across the treetops, but dismissed it as her nervous imagination. She kept hovering, slowly moving forward. At times she lagged behind the other two, but it was better than running. If she started running, she might not have stopped. 

“It’s right up ahead!” Twelve cheered, snapping Shade out of her paranoid thoughts. The sister broke into a sprint, dashing towards Thirteen’s base.

Shade looked over at Double, who kept on walking. “We don’t have to run,” the robot responded to the unasked question. “She simply gets really excited about things.”

Shade chuckled, trying her best to hide her nerves. “Yeah, I’ve kinda noticed.”

A sigh could be heard from the hall moments after Twelve entered. “What do you want? I was in the middle of building and, y’know, being  _ alone _ .”

“We’re having a sleepover!”

“What?” The voices became clearer as Shade and Double approached.

“Now, just hear me out-”

“Okay fine.”

Twelve sighed. “Please, Thirteen, just- Wait.” Her expression froze. “You said yes?”

“Yeah.” Thirteen arched her eyebrows, as if her saying yes to things was unheard of. “As long as you don’t try to Overworld-ify the place, make it all pink and pretty and glittery and stuff. And,” she turned to Shade, “if she doesn’t cause any trouble.” Shade tensed. Thirteen did something the phantom hadn’t seen her do since she arrived: she smiled. “I’m sure you won’t - you seem nice enough-” She gripped the hilt of her sword, which rested at her waist. “-but you can never be too cautious.”

Shade didn’t really know what to say or do. She tried to make a happy face, but was sure it came out wrong. “Thanks.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s like, basic human decency. Even I know some of that,” she smirked. “Now, which one of you nerds is gonna get the beds and which ones are gonna prep the food? And Double can’t be in charge of food. No offense, but your cooking is shit.”

“Language!”

“I can easily prepare the sleeping arrangements.” Double quickly accepted her job. “What color wool would everyone like?” After the girls answered with pink, red, and blue, the robot went off to gather the materials.

“So,” Twelve asked after waving goodbye to Double, “where’s the kitchen?”

“Right back here. It’s pretty, uh, make-shift, but it’ll work for some food.”

“Cookies, you mean?” Twelve followed her sister into the small side room.

Shade entered the room with Twelve. “Could we maybe make pumpkin pie too? I mean,” she shrugged, “it’s a favorite of mine.”

“Of course! Now, where are the ingredients?” Twelve practically dove head first into a chest, coming out with a face full of flour and eggs. 

Shade tried to contain her giggles, whereas Thirteen burst into laughter. “Now- ha!- Now all we need is- is milk and- and we’ve-” She doubled over, unable to finish her joke.

“Ha ha, very funny.” Twelve deadpanned, with a smile creeping onto her messy face. “Could you please just- just hand me a towel?”

Her sister couldn’t hear her through her giggling fit. Shade was able to calm herself down enough to find a wool cloth and pass it to Twelve. 

“Thank you.” She wiped off her face and hands. “Okay, so are we starting with the pie or co-”

“Food fight!” Thirteen shouted, egg in hand.

Twelve flung up her hands in self-defense. “No! We need to get to cooking. We can play around after we finish, during the sleepover itself.”

Thirteen groaned, lowering her hand. “Party pooper. First time you’ve turned down fun in a while.”

“Well,” Twelve said, carefully reaching into other containers, “I know when to have fun. And that time isn’t now, and certainly doesn’t involve throwing eggs.”

“I found a recipe!” Shade pulled a dirty piece of paper out of a barrel. She stuck her other hand in a hidden pocket in her cloak. “And I have my famous pumpkin pie recipe right he- Oh.” An empty hand exited the pocket. “Must’ve left it somewhere at home.” 

“Hey, no need to frown!” Twelve put a messy arm around her friend’s shoulder. “We’ve still got recipes around here. We’ll just have to try yours some other time.”

“Yeah, sure, but it won’t beat mine,” Thirteen said, waving a similarly weathered paper.

Shade’s sadness was gone in the blink of an eye. Her smile returned as a smirk. “Oh, we’ll see about that. But for now, let’s bake some sweets!”

-~-

“Alright girls, I’m ba-” Double opened the door to the small kitchen, and promptly got hit in the face with a handful of cookie dough.

“Take that you robotic… you!”

“Thirteen, what in the name of the Nether is going on here?” Double looked at the room’s occupants with confusion. All of them were covered in a layer of batter. Shade was relatively clean, at least compared to the others, but the sisters were a complete mess.

“Well,” Twelve said, picking a glob out of her hair, “we made cookies!”

“And pumpkin pie,” Shade chimed in. “I had the most fun baking I’ve had in a while.”

“I hate to end the fun-”

“No you don’t, nerd!”

“-but you three are absolutely filthy! You all should get clean at once, at the very least before bed.”

“Sure,  _ mom _ ,” Thirteen sighed. 

“Being the motherly figure is not exactly the most pleasant, but with Fourteen not here I must step up.” Double escorted the giggling girls to the bathroom and bedroom, where they cleaned off and got changed. Luckily, since she was the cleanest of the three, Shade didn’t have to change. She didn’t exactly have anything to change into otherwise. 

Once they all got freshened up, they headed out to the main hall. Double had set up the beds there, as well as the treats and a small campfire. “The hall is big enough for smoke not to be a problem, and I will put out the fire before shutting off for the night,” she had explained. 

They all got snuggled in their beds, with the sisters in their pajamas. “Anybody got any good ghost stories?”

After a moment, Shade raised her hand with a smirk.

“Oh, the newbie’s got one?” Thirteen gestured towards her, leaning back on her red bed. “Go for it.”

The sisters all cuddled up, with Shade opposite them for dramatic effect. “Well,” she began, “it all started off with a girl, alone in the End. She was just walking around on an island when she slipped. Missed a one-block jump, the poor thing. She tumbled into the Void. She had no items on her, and piece by piece she was being stripped away. In her last breath, she yelled out to the Void. She proposed a deal. She said she would trade a piece of her to the Void, but enough to be left alive. She promised the Void that if it let her live for now, it could have her next time. After what felt like forever, the Void agreed, letting the poor player respawn. However, the player was not the same: she retained few memories from before, had none of her original personality, and was a ghost of her former self. She basically had to start her life all over again. It… it took a toll on her.” Shade forced away tears with a shaky smile. “But she made it. She lived.”

The sisters sat, jaws dropped and eyes wide in awe. Twelve was the most invested, with her face being the most expressive. Thirteen tried to compose herself, partially failing. Double’s mouth opened slightly, eyes not quite as wide but asking a million questions.

“Well,” Thirteen spoke first after several moments of silence, “that wasn’t bad.”

“Not bad? That was amazing! And so well-told and emotional. Like, I’m nearly crying.”

“Thanks Twelve,” Shade softly smiled.

Double’s eyebrows were arched, her mouth ready to ask a question. She decided to close it in favor of a smile, leaving her inquiries and suspicions for later. “That certainly was an excellent story. Now,” she checked her internal clocks, “it is getting rather late. I suggest we hit the hay. Figuratively, of course.”

“You’re no fun,” Thirteen grumbled, already burying herself in her blanket.

Twelve yawned. “Goodnight Thirteen. ‘Til tomorrow, Double. Sweet dreams, Shade.”

“You too Twelve, goodnight.” Shade flipped open her sheets and slipped into bed.

The girls all tucked themselves in. Double did so too, although not necessarily needing to, after extinguishing the fire. They all slept soundly that night, with dreams dancing through their heads of what tomorrow might bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope I did Shade's story well!


End file.
